And as far as Venom goes, I think I'm gonna be the odd man out on this one. Not with the movie, which looks disappointingly terrible and a throwback to that awful Josh Trank Fant4stic film from a couple years ago, but with the character himself. I actually enjoy Venom whenever Brock is the one behind the wheel, especially when you get past the horror element that Todd MacFarlane intended with him and treat him as almost this annoying jock-lite big brother to Spider-Man that would sooner give Parker a swirlie than attempt to eat his brains. Venom as a villain never really made sense after his initial arc, but as Peter's reluctantly called upon ally? He's gold. 

Of course, that opinion is weighed in a bit of bias for the PS1 Spider-Man game and the original 90's cartoon, where that version of Venom really shined. But as far as the comics go, it's also important to remember that Eddie really hasn't been Venom for quite a long time. The big overused monster versions have generally been successors, like Mac Gargan. Mindless, dull versions of the character with nothing to offer. Agent Venom was a nice change of pace and I really loved what that did for Flash Thompson's character, but I admit that it's nice for me to know that Brock is back. 

Now, does that mean that I'm one of those people who thinks Venom is one of the coolest Spider-Man villains ever? Fuck no. My favorites are the classic rogues like Doc Ock, The Goblin, and Mysterio. But as a rough Bizarro stand-in that every superhero practically needs, he serves his purpose.

This film, of course, negates any of that by pretending as if Venom is interesting by himself. It reminds me of the bafflingly in-production Joker origin movie that isn't going to feature Batman. Who the fuck is that even for?